‘Bringing Hasaranga to bowl the third over was a masterstroke’ – Irfan Pathan lauds Virat Kohli’s captaincy in PBKS vs RCB

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan praised Virat Kohli for his captaincy tactics in the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) win over the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL 2023 on April 20 in Mohali. Kohli took over the charge after regular skipper Faf du Plessis was unable to play as a regular player owing to a rib injury. Notably, RCB defeated PBKS by 24 runs in the match and grabbed their third victory in the ongoing IPL.

Pathan stated that Kohli brought fresh energy to the game and made fantastic decisions by changing bowlers on a frequent basis. The 38-year-old stated that putting in Wanindu Hasaranga in the third over was an excellent choice because Kohli knew PBKS’ Matthew Short (8) was challenged by spin. Besides Short, Hasaranga also removed Shahrukh Khan (7) and played a crucial role in RCB’s win.

“He brought a different energy. Along with the energy, the decision-making – changing the bowling regularly. Bringing Hasaranga to bowl the third over was a masterstroke because he knew that Matthew Short is troubled by spin. So he brought spin and got a strong grip on the match,” Pathan said during a post-match discussion on Star Sports.

“When Siraj dismissed Livingstone, he was brought from the other end, and then the fielding (Siraj’s run out of Harpreet Singh). It gets rubbed off when you bring in that much energy. From Virat Kohli’s energy, it seemed as though he had done the run-out,” he added.

RCB beat PBKS by 24 runs in Mohali

After being invited to bat first, RCB set a 175-run target for PBKS, with Kohli and Impact Player Du Pessis scoring half-centuries. The 34-year-old batter scored 59 off 47 balls, while the Proteas batsman struck 84 off 56 deliveries. Harpreet Brar took two wickets for PBKS, while Arshdeep Singh and Nathan Ellis took one each.

RCB bowlers took early wickets as PBKs were bowled out for 150 with 10 balls remaining. Mohammed Siraj took four key wickets and was instrumental in RCB’s victory. For his brilliant spell, he emerged as the Player of the Match. Meanwhile, Hasaranga took two wickets, while Wayne Parnell and Harshal Patel picked one each.